Aquanomics

Water is becoming increasingly scarce. If recent usage trends continue, shortages are inevitable. Aquanomics discusses some of the instruments and policies that may be implemented to postpone, or even avoid, the onset of water crises. These policies include establishing secure and transferable private water rights and extending these rights to uses that traditionally have not been allowed, including altering in-stream flows and ecosystem functions. The editors argue that such policies will help maximize water quantity and quality as water becomes scarcer and more valuable. Aquanomics contains many examples of how this is being accomplished, particularly in the formation of water markets and market-like exchanges of water rights.Many observers see calamity ahead unless water supplies are harnessed and effectively conserved, and unless water quality can be improved. It is also clear that declining water quality is a serious problem in much of the world, as increasing human activities induce high levels of water degradation. Those who voice these concerns, argue the contributors to this volume, fail to consider the forces for improvement inherent in market political-economic systems that can address water issues. The contributors see water quality in economically advanced countries as improving, and they believe this establishes the validity of market-based approaches.

Water covers some 75% of the earth’s surface, while land covers 25%, approximately. Yet the former accounts for less than 1% of world GDP, the latter 99% plus. Part of the reason for this imbalance is that there are more people located on land than water. But a more important explanation is that while land is privately owned, water is unowned (with the exception of a few small lakes and ponds), or governmentally owned (rivers, large lakes). This gives rise to the tragedy of the commons: when something is unowned, people have less of an incentive to care for it, preserve it, and protect it, than when they own it. As a result we have oil spills, depletion of fish stocks, threatened extinction of some species (e.g. whales), shark attacks, polluted and dried-up rivers, misallocated water, unsafe boating, piracy, and other indices of economic disarray which, if they had occurred on the land, would have been more easily identified as the result of the tragedy of the commons and/or government ownership and mismanagement. The purpose of this book is to make the case for privatization of all bodies of water, without exception. In the tragic example of the Soviet Union, the 97% of the land owned by the state accounted for 75% of the crops. On the 3% of the land privately owned, 25% of the crops were grown. The obvious mandate requires that we privatize the land, and prosper. The present volume applies this lesson, in detail, to bodies of water.

With wild stocks declining due to over-fishing, aquaculture will have a more significant role to play in meeting future demand for fresh fish. Developments in research continue to lead to improvements in aquaculture production systems, resulting in increased production efficiency, higher product quality for consumers and a more sustainable industry. New technologies in aquaculture reviews essential advances in these areas. Part one focuses on the genetic improvement of farmed species and control of reproduction, with chapters on genome-based technologies in aquaculture research, selective breeding and the production of single sex and sterile populations, among other topics. Parts two and three review key issues in health, diet and husbandry, such as the control of viral and parasitic diseases, diet and husbandry techniques to improve disease resistance, advances in diets for particular fish species and the impact of harmful algal bloom on shellfisheries aquaculture. Chapters in Parts three and four then examine the design of different aquaculture production systems, including offshore technologies, tank-based recirculating systems and ponds, and key environmental issues, such as the prediction and assessment of the impact of aquaculture. Concluding chapters focus on farming new species. With its well-known editors and distinguished international team of contributors, New technologies in aquaculture is an essential purchase for professionals and researchers in the aquaculture industry. Reviews recent advances in improvements in aquaculture production Focuses on the genetic improvement and reproduction of farmed species, including genome-based technologies Discusses key health issues, including advances in disease diagnosis, vaccine development and other emerging methods to control pathogens in aquaculture

Methyl bromide, a potent pest control chemical, was identified as an ozone depleting substance (ODS) in 1972. The phase out of this toxic chemical presents a special challenge. To replace methyl bromide, users around the world must have access to reliable and useful technical information. This publication was produced by the United Nations Environment Programme to promote the methyl bromide phase out. It allows the reader to carefully and thoroughly assess many available alternatives and decide on the best option for their situation. The publication also provides addresses of suppliers and specialists in alternatives; references and websites; and contacts for implementing agencies.

This present volume contains 18 contributions, papers presented in four technical sessions during the national seminar on Governance and Management of water. The volume analyses the present crisis of water from different aspects and provides an opportunity to address the challenges on effective water governance and management. By focusing on different cases from around the country, the colume generates new ideas and hopes for probable of such challenges.

Aquamorphia: Falling for Water is a mythological, psychological and elemental poetic history of water in three deeply entrancing parts. Each section of this exciting and tumultuous water narrative takes the reader for a ride on different streams of intoxicating, daring and at times playful water worlds. From ancient Greek creation myths to the Australian beach, Aquamorphia moves symphonically, praising the maternal and generative qualities of fluidity since the Big Bang, or splitting of the Cosmic Egg. The verse is afloat with metaphors that flesh out the minutiae of the aquatic landscapes that sustain life.

The blue economy is a major driver of urban and regional development, creating millions of local jobs in water-dependent sectors such as fisheries, tourism, and shipping. However, it can also contribute to carbon emissions and ecosystem degradation, while its reliance on freshwater, coastal and marine ecosystems exposes it to the impacts of climate change. As the places where the blue economy takes place, creates value and provides jobs, cities and regions play a key role in unlocking the potential of a resilient blue economy that preserves the ecosystems that sustain it. Building on a global survey of 80+ cities, regions and basins, this report highlights the costs and benefits of the blue economy at subnational level, shedding light on the link between the blue economy and water security. This analysis provides an overview of the multi-level governance of the blue economy and related gaps. It calls on cities and regions to develop resilient, inclusive, sustainable and circular (RISC-proof) blue economies by establishing the right governance conditions related to policy making, policy coherence and policy implementation. The report concludes with a RISC Assessment Framework that offers a self-evaluation tool for subnational governments.